Chicago tech project will make police misconduct complaints more accessible

By Lolly Bowean
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — A Chicago organization that has worked to help make allegations of police misconduct more transparent and the data accessible to residents was given a grant Tuesday to expand its work.

The Citizens Police Data Project, which is headed by The Invisible Institute and The Experimental Station, was given a $400,000 Knight News Challenge on Data grant to expand its online database to allow the public to better track and analyze police misconduct reports.

Eventually that site will let residents file complaints too.

"The work The Invisible Institute has been doing feels like a national model for a way transparency can serve the public," said John Bracken, the Knight Foundation's vice president for media innovation. "As this project grows, a key component is to engage the community and have them share their experiences. They don't rely just on a digital component — they have a way for the community to share and engage and that's at the core of what they plan to do."

The award and recognition come at a time when scrutiny of police, reports of misconduct and how officers are disciplined has grown in Chicago and throughout the country. The Invisible Institute obtained years of documents on Chicago police misconduct after a lengthy court battle and that information helped add perspective to the police shootings of Laquan McDonald, Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones, said Alison Flowers, a journalist with the group.

With the new resources, the organization will build out its database so reports can be easily analyzed based on gender, race, neighborhood and other demographics, Flowers said.

"This database changes the power dynamics because it lays out police conduct for the public to see," she said.

Since 2007, the Knight News Challenge has invested in projects that present innovative ways to use data to affect citizens. More than 1,050 organizations applied for grant support this year, Bracken said.

The police data project was one of two Chicago-based ideas selected.

The second project aims to help residents apply for public aide and benefits faster by directing them to the paperwork they'll need before they start the process.

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